1. Filed of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus management system for managing image forming apparatus to perform predetermined jobs, such as printer, and in particular to an image forming apparatus management system for setting a variety of parameters of image forming apparatus according to a job instruction from a client machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such an image forming apparatus management system according to the related art is, for example, a printer management system for performing print jobs.
Recently, numerous sophisticated image forming apparatus have been proposed. This type of image forming apparatus is equipped with various parameter adjustment mechanisms and , in order to increase reliability, entrusts use information of the parameter adjustment mechanism to input by a client to adjust the parameter adjustment mechanisms.
However, in case that parameters of the parameter adjustment mechanism are entirely entrusted to the input by a client, there is concerns about parameter input errors by the client. Further, in case that parameter setting range is specified only roughly, use conditions for image forming apparatus are not optimum. Thus, it is difficult to say that an image forming apparatus is used under the optimum conditions.
As a related art 1 for solving such a trouble, a technology is proposed in which parameters are transmitted from a server to an image forming apparatus connected via a network according to details of a print job to be carried out (see the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 240461/1998).
As another related art 2, a technology is proposed in which a user server and a maker server are connected with each other and image forming apparatus control software is used in case that the image forming apparatus control software has been updated when a request is made to check update of the image forming apparatus control software, and otherwise the latest-version image forming apparatus control software is downloaded from the maker server (see the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 203079/1999).
As another related art 3, a technology is proposed in which print information such as setup utilities, drivers, print setting information, and documents is retrieved based on location information on a wide area network to retrieve such information on a host computer and setting of printing apparatus is made on the host computer (see the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 170669/1999).
Incidentally, as another related art 4, a technology has already been known in public in which, in Factory Automation (FA) system, various kinds of files of an inspection device and a control device are stored in a FA server to update the files by a personal computer at central office (see the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 161707/1998).
However, in such image forming apparatus management system, available paper comes in a variety of brands. General basis weight or size information helps to set parameters only roughly and it is being difficult to perform optimum adjustment of an image forming apparatus.
Thus, in order to fulfill the maximum image forming apparatus performance in image forming apparatus management system of this type, for example, if the “brand of paper” itself is recognized and information specialized in the brand of paper is obtained, such as basis weight of paper/surface state/sturdiness/other extensive information, it is considered to become possible to set optimum parameters specialized in the brand of paper.
Among image forming apparatus management systems according to the related arts, for example, the related art 1 transmits parameters from a server to an image forming apparatus according to the details of a print job. Here, the parameters are nothing but things used to reference the configuration of the image forming apparatus (type of image forming apparatus, number of units, performance, current state) to select the optimum image forming apparatus in response to user's request (paper size, print quality, color, time limit). These parameters are not assumed the aforementioned “brand of paper” that may fulfill the maximum performance of the selected image forming apparatus.
If image forming apparatus management system is implemented in which each of parameters specialized in the “brand of paper” is stored in the server of the related art 1, capacity of each of parameters specialized in the brand of paper is huge. Moreover, assuming each user updates the brand of paper as required, such an image forming apparatus management system is extremely cumbersome and expensive to the user.
The related art 2 is a technology in which the latest image forming apparatus control software is always provided on the maker server and image forming apparatus control software is delivered to the image forming apparatus from the maker server via the user server. In this practice, what is delivered is only image forming apparatus control software. This system is not assumed delivery of various parameters of the image forming apparatus.
On the contrary, the related art 3 is a technology in which various print information (setup utilities, drivers, print setting information and documents) is obtained on the host computer and setting of the printing apparatus (an image forming apparatus) is made on the host computer. However, various print information refers to the minimum information necessary for the printing apparatus to execute a print job. These parameters is not assumed parameters specialized in the aforementioned “brand of paper” that may fulfill the maximum performance of the image forming apparatus.
The related art 4 is a technology in which files in a server are updated from a PC in the center office. This technology is not assumed parameters specialized in the aforementioned “brand of paper” that may fulfill the maximum performance of the image forming apparatus.
Even when a system is established where necessary information is transmitted from a host server such as a maker server, host computer or a PC in the center office to a machine such as image forming apparatus as in the related arts 2 through 4, it is impossible to implement image forming apparatus management system to allow setting of various parameters that may fulfill the maximum performance of the image forming apparatus only by transmitting the latest image forming apparatus control software or the minimum information necessary for executing a print job.
Such technical problems are not only caused in an aforementioned image forming apparatus management system but also caused in an image forming apparatus management system that manages various parameters of an image forming apparatus such as printer.